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Apple turns 40: Moments that defined Silicon Valley’s golden apple

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Apple turns 40
The world’s most well-known tech company turns 40 this week. CNET.com’s Lexy Savvides looks at the legacy of Apple and where the tech giant is headed in the next 40 years. – Mar 31, 2016

Forty years ago Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak met in a garage to build a computer that would change modern computing as we know it. Jobs and Wozniak would go on to become celebrities of Silicon Valley; and their company would become one of the most recognized and successful brands in the world.

On Friday, Apple will celebrate its 40th anniversary – the same day the 13th iteration of its world famous iPhone goes on sale in North America.

Over the years Apple has become one of the world’s most valuable company’s – currently worth an estimated US$584 billion – and introduced revolutionary products to the tech marketplace, like the iPod.

Here are some of the moments that defined the company:

1976

Jobs and Wozniak officially found Apple Computers Inc. and unveil the Apple 1 computer. The vintage computers are now worth about $200,000.

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1984

Apple launches its now iconic commercial for the Macintosh Computer.

1998

The company launches the first “all-in-one” iMac computer – you know, the ones with the colourful plastic backing.

Apple turns 40: Moments that defined Silicon Valley’s golden apple - image

2001

With the introduction of the iPod and iTunes, Apple changed how we consume music forever. The first iPod was only able to hold 1,000 songs.

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2007

The iPhone is released.

2010

Apple introduces its first tablet with the iPad.

2011

Siri, Apple’s snarky voice assistant, stole the show when Apple released the iPhone 4S in 2011. That was the same year the company launched cloud computing with iCloud, an online storage system.

This was the same year Steve Jobs resigned as CEO due to illness. He died of cancer in October 2011.

2013

Apple buys Beats for US$3 billion.

2015

After years of rumours, Apple finally unveils its first wearable device – the Apple Watch.

2016

Most recently, Apple became the subject of a massive terrorism investigation and the centre of a debate over data privacy after the FBI asked the company to unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects.

The case was dropped after the FBI found a third-party to hack the phone.

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